Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-08-26
THE PONIES OF cH1NcorEAGpE.
Some Points About Virginia Nags
Noted at an Annual Penning.
IErnrn Plila lrL,i Ti,,naS

Some Points About Virginia Nags
Noted at an Annual Penning.
From Philadelphia Times letter.
| "Here's the pony, gentlemen. Thar amt
| no finer traveller on the island Whoa, tharl
| durn ye!"
The speaker, tall, angular chap, with
unkempt hair, q cardinal shirt, blue overalls
and barefooted, a typical specimen of the
native, was holding by the long name res
| tive, diminutive pony, the raising and pen
| ming of which has, within the last decade,
made the island of Chincoteague, Va, in
connection with its great oyster deposits, fa-
nous throughout the country. And while
| he was Tociferously expatiating upon the
speeding qualities of his charge the crowd
| was constantly augmenting in size-a Carl
GUS, heterogeneous congregation of people,
who came in boats from the Virginia shore
and in the cars from the back counties in
Maryland. This year, however, the attend
ance has not been confined exclusively to
residents of the immediate neighborhood,
but Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and
Washington have contributed largely to
swell the crowds from the rural districts
Conspicuous among this great audience are
the colored people, who regard the event
as holiday and are always present in full
force.
ssThese pennings take place annually in
August, and for weeks great preparations
are made by the people to attend them.
The avant courier is the eorpulent colored
\ woman with her toothsome squares of old
fashioned gingerbread and spruce beer. The
rapid development of internal improvements
| and the inexoraple march of progressive in
| telllgence have somewhat shorn these pen
nings of their antique and novel features,
L lr,44 41ara Sc rkt Il, FL
| profoundly interesting and highly amusing
| to the northern spectator.
| It is almost impossible to learn anything
definite as to the origin of the Chincoteague
pony. The Oldest inhabitant cannot give a
correct or intelligent version of whence he
1 came. They all have their theories, some of
them plausible enough in their way, but
| there is a lack of authenticity in these mar
| ratiyes that leave impressions of dubious
character. great many claim that they
are an offspring of the pony of the Shetland
| Isles and must have found their way to Chin
| colleague from a large steamer that was
| wrecked on the island before it was inhabi-
| ted. Certain it is at one time they roamed
/ the island in vast numbers, but when the
great storm of forty years ago devastated
| the country and almost submerged Chinco-
| league it came near annihilating them.
In size the Chincoteague pony approx
| mates that of the Shetland. The hair on
| their bodies IS thick and shaggy and their
| names and tails are long and glossy. They
are strong, hardy little fellows, roaming
wild on the extreme southern end of the is
| land, feeding on the hay and tender roots
which grow in luxurious abundance in the
| salt marshes bordering on the bay and the
Atlantic ocean. When they are brought in
| they are divided off into what is known in
| the yernacular as herds, and each herd has
| its own peculiar mark or brand to distin-
guish it from the others, and thus obyiate
| the difficulty of dispute as to identity and
ownership when corralled for branding
These branding-irons are made according to
| the notion of the owner, representing the in
| itials, stars, spear-heads, crosses, &C., and
| are easily distinguished.